Category Archives: 21st C Learning

The Essential Conversation

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Parents and schools (teachers, administrators, staff, etc.) are members of the same team – partners – striving together for the same goal. The goal, I hope and trust, is to collaboratively guide and support our children/student-learners as they grow, develop, learn, fail, rise after failure, succeed, question, figure out life (as we do, too), and be and become themselves. I am thankful for the partnership that exists at Westminster. I know it is not this way at some schools, but we do work together here. Today, I hosted the third of three “Junior High Parents Parleys with the Principal.” We don’t always all agree – nor should we…what fun or challenge would that be – but we do listen to each other and value the other. Good conversation and team work happens.

Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, in 2003, published The Essential Conversation: What Parents and Teachers Can Learn from Each Other. The title and the author alone are good motivation to read the wonderful piece. My purpose here today is not to pontificate on the book, but I wanted to use the title for this post and to recommend the read, so I include it here. My purpose is more to share about the parley today. About 120-140 parents attended the 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. event (we have a JH student population of 559, for reference). I am so appreciative of the parents who choose to attend and can attend. I realize that many cannot attend a middle-of-the-day event, and I imagine that many more want to be involved in the ongoing discussions about their children, school, and the intersection and spectra of the two.

My objective today (I am a teacher): facilitate conversation amongst parents about things on their hearts and minds concerning school. Usually, I spend a lot of time prepping a presentation – a Prezi, PowerPoint, videos, etc. Today, partly because of my recent sabbatical absence, I simply used a Q & A format. But I tried to model a “21st century way” of doing so.

  • People could raise hands and ask questions (or shout out, for that matter, if they preferred).
  • People could write a question or a topic on a notecard provided at the door (I am not sure anyone actually did this…I failed to collect any, although I did reference them twice and received no cards).
  • People could tweet if they wanted. The pre-decided hashtag was #jhparley (click on the hashtag at left if you want to see the tweets).
  • People could contribute to a Poll Everywhere web-doc if they wanted – by phone (text), poll4.com (smart phone or other mobile technology), or tweet to poll. (Here is a screenshot example, and the full transcript can be accessed with the link beneath the screenshot.)

Full “live text wall” of poll everywhere results

After I did a short explanation of how people could use the Twitter hashtag and Poll Everywhere if they wanted, someone immediately asked if they could just raise their hand and ask aloud. “Of course,” I said, “but some people might not be as comfortable asking their question in a room of 130 people. Some know how to use Twitter and some don’t. People can use the cards and/or the Poll Everywhere. This is just like a classroom – we can enhance the conversation if more people have a way to join the conversation. We are all different, just like our kids. And on Twitter, if you wanted, you could continue the conversation after this is over. Some of you might want to try a ‘new’ way so that you can experiment in a safe place with the tools at your disposal and your children’s disposal. There are many ways to get a rich conversation happening for as many people as possible – people in the room and not in the room. We should leverage the tools we have so that more people can get involved. For those who could not come today, perhaps they might like to read the tweets of attendees. Or they could read the Poll Everywhere transcript later when I post it on my blog.” [Okay, this was not a direct quote, but it is what I tried to communicate, and what I hope to be communicating here and now.]

For parents just tuning in to today’s parley by way of this blog, here are a few samples of questions from the floor:

  • Is Synergy 8 a semester class or a year-long class? It was not clear on the registration card handed out Tuesday.
  • Do some students and teachers run to lunch?
  • Can we have a formal chess team in the JH?
  • Have you read the recent article about boys? Do you think that there is a negative trend for development of “good boys?”
  • What’s the real difference between regular math and honors math? If a student decides not to act on recommendation for honors, do they have a harder time getting into honors later?
  • Can we talk more about the changes in honors and awards at the end of the year? Here’s what I think about the changes…
  • Have the netbooks been a successful addition this year?

There were many more questions, and I answered most with additional input and thought from other parents in the room. The hope was for me not just to talk and parents to listen. And we took most questions from the poll, as well. An audience member tweeted some of the resources discussed in the meeting – an article in a newspaper, a link to a documentary film about schools, etc. I was so appreciative of this tweeter! I have tweet-messaged her to thank her! I wished for more tweeters, but perhaps people forgot to use the hashtag, or perhaps not many people are comfortable using that particular tool. It was ” a start” though. Just like a good conference has a hashtag, so did we! And two people – one other than me – used it! That’s a start.

The various technologies were NOT the point.

The CONVERSATION and DISCUSSION were the point…the objective!

In my opinion, though, the “21st century way” to facilitate this discussion was to provide and/or introduce ways for people to participate – so more people could participate and potentially connect with each other…and potentially use each other for resources so that we can collaboratively help and guide our children to grow and develop and learn. It’s about learning! Thanks parents for your partnership.

[Note: I decided to use these tools this morning. I set up the hashtag and Poll Everywhere at about 9:00 a.m. after a brainstorm on my way walking to work. I was thinking about how best to get more folks into the conversation, and I was wishing I could provide some sense of the meeting to people who could not attend. Then, I thought of Twitter and Poll Everywhere. Maybe next time, I will wear a mic and webcast for those interested! I love trying something new to provide more potential for learning and growth – mine and others’.]

App-etizer: Wildlab Birds

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I may play around with a series of posts about apps for iPhone and iPad. Calling the series “app-etizer” for now. Cute, huh?! When I attended ASCD, I went to a session about apps. More than anything, the session got me thinking about a series of posts like this for sharing an app and an idea for how to use in “21C learning.” Also, my iPad 2 has arrived…I migrated without a hitch, and I am just playing to learn…and learning to play.

So, I downloaded “Wildlab Birds.” It is free…I am cheap. We have a bird feeder outside our dining room French doors, and we have gotten into some very novice bird watching. Because we live on campus, the only house we own is at a Georgia lake, and it provides some superb birding as well. Third, I am a big fan of Clark Meyer, and he can make birding seem pretty cool. Anyway, we bought a book for bird identification. But, we cannot figure out how to get the book to play audio (sorry…couldn’t resist).

But Wildlab Birds has easy ID capabilities, and the birds’ songs are available. Also, through GPS, my sons and I can submit that we saw a particular bird, and we contribute to a scientific community tracking bird range and sightings. Last night, in Augusta, I played the song of a tufted titmouse, and three called back to the iPad. I am already dreaming of a naturalist outing at Westminster. We have almost 200 acres, and Clark assures me we have some interesting species and migrations across campus. Oh the places we could go…and the field studies we could explore and create!

Addendum to “Have a Magical Day!”

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On the edu180atl blog this week, I read of a teacher at Mt. Vernon Presbyterian School who used Skype to connect her students with King Henry VIII (http://edu180atlbeta.posterous.com/edu180atl-amanda-stavropoulos-4211). They actually time travelled through a creative use of a community resource and a 21st century tool. I was reminded of my family venture to the Magic Kingdom this week. Two of our favorite moments occurred in shows in which wind blew through the theatre, rain showered from the ceiling, and Donald went from 3D image in my glasses to a duck tail in the rear wall of the house. Disney was masterful at creating an illusion that compelled, captivated, and educated. Yes, Disney actually pulled out of us all an internal creativity and imaginative wonder…just like the MVPS teacher. Here’s to more inspired creativity and demolition of perceived walls in our learning! Suspension of disbelief is the twin of innovation and belief. Let’s create some. It’s about learning, after all!

Posted from my iPad with WordPress app.

Have a magical day!

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Currently, I am ecstatically enjoying phase III of my sabbatical – several days at Walt Disney World with my wife and two sons (6 and 4 years old). In addition to the sheer joy of being with them in this magical place, I am reminded of some critical lessons about learning.

At Disney, there are no employees. Everyone who works here is a “cast member.” Very different connotations. Props are everywhere. Setting is carefully orchestrated, complete with music, costumes, sound cues, etc. All of the elements work in harmony to create a magical illusion. Very few details are left unconsidered. Consequently, the illusion can become very real and believable.

As Dan Pink explained in A Whole New Mind, story and design are critically important. The Heath brothers make the same point in their books, and folks like Garr Reynolds and Nancy Duarte reiterate time after time. Design and story make learning compelling, real, experiential, and captivating.

In schools, are we employees or cast members? I know some people bristle at entertainment-education, and that is not what I am advocating. I am questioning whether we pay enough attention to design and story. And I am certainly questioning if we guide students in creating the design and story themselves. I believe Disney has some advice to offer in this area.

Learning should be magical. Have a magical day!

Threads of a Braided Cord…and Myelinating my Network

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This morning, I read about 30 blog posts from my feed reader. How blessed I feel to be connected to so many powerful thinkers – working hard to figure things out – via Twitter, Google Reader, WordPress, etc. Are you a school leader? You don’t need a formal title to be such, of course! How’s your PLN? Is your personal learning network full of ever-expanding nodes held together by evolving silks of connectivity? Are you taking risks, reflecting out loud, writing with your students, and getting up after every fall?

In the past 20 years, we have learned so much about the brain…about how synapses that “fire together, wire together.” Since I began tweeting and blogging, I have magnified the sparks that are firing and wiring my brain. And my social network is a professional network that functions similarly to the biology of my brain. I am grateful for my co-learners who are helping me to myelinate my thinking about schools of the future and the future of schools.

Of the 30 blog posts I read this morning, three in particular seemed to weave together for me. To write is to see what we think…and to write requires active reflection…and developing these habits means making errors and mistakes from which we can learn and grow and improve. Here are the three links to the braided cord of my morning’s thinking…my most recent myelination. What’s wiring your brain? Are you practicing writing, reflecting, and getting up after a fall? Who is in your neural network? Who is challenging you and spurring you to grow?

“Everyone’s a writer. NWP taught me that,” from Bud Hunt and the PLP network

“A Lesson in the Importance of Reflection,” from Jeff Delp (@azjd)

“Fall down seven times, get up eight: The power of Japanese resilience,” from Garr Reynolds

NOTE: Some people fear the “opening up” of so many feeds. I often hear, “I have enough to do without adding Twitter and RSS reads to my list.” If you dare, look at what Bill Ferriter and John Burk have written lately about how social networking saves you time. And never be afraid to “prune.” When I get overwhelmed by my feeds, I sometimes click on “mark all as read” and start with a clean slate. What about all that stuff I am missing? I would have missed it permanently if they were never in my feed reading. I – ME – I get to be in control of my reading…it does NOT control me. Take a chance today…try Twitter…start a blog. You will fall down, but you should get back up. Find the threads of a braided cord for your thinking. Provide some threads for others. That’s truly what learning is all about!